Wednesday, 29 March 2017

Cabo de Gata with the Arboleas Birdwatching Group

Wednesday 29 MarchTo celebrate the presentation of the six-page letter to the EU announcing the UK's imminent departure, Dave and his merry band of mainly ex-pats that make up the Arboleas Birdwatching Group spent the day at Cabo de Gata and nearby Ramble Morales where they seem to have a marvellous day's birding away from all the political nonsense going on to the north of the continent. Sanity returns and even my friend Steve Powell was able to confirm that our resident Dippers are once more back on their traditional nesting site, a location that has most probably been in use for at least the past twenty years.

Cabo de Gata & Rambla Morales

Wednesday 29th March

John
picked me up from Los Gallardos & we headed towards Cabo de Gata.
Our bird log begins once we come off the motorway heading for Retamar
Sur. By the time we'd reached Pujaire we'd already logged 9 species, the
best being a Common Buzzard near the Visitor Centre. Others included
Kestrel, Jackdaw and some Barn Swallows. We had a coffee before making
our way to the first hide. Colin & Sandra were due to catch up with
us once they'd dropped friends off at the airport. As we arrived we saw
lots of Pallid Swifts flying above us. We were delighted to see 18
Spoonbill on and around the rocky causeway. Also there were a couple of
Little Egrets and a selection of gulls :- Black-headed, Slender-billed and Yellow-legged. On the wader front we spotted numerous Avocet,
about 6 Grey Plover, a few Kentish Plover and Black-winged Stilt and a
Redshank. Apart from the Mallards, John spotted a different one. It was
some distance away and obviously female. It eventually flew. We believe
it was a Garganey. Smaller birds included " Iberian" Yellow Wagtails and a Thekla Lark. Oh yes, forgot to mention the Greater Flamingos! At
this point a coach arrived. John said, " A coach load of children.
That's all we need!" Thankfully these "children" were a group of British
birdwatchers being led by Jesus Contreras, a local guide. Thankful we
were indeed as one of them found a Collared Pratincole on the rocky
causeway that we'd missed. Our first of the year.

I spotted a Blackcap,
followed by an Iberian Grey Shrike on the power line behind us. At this
point Colin and Sandra joined us. We showed them the Spoonbill,
Pratincole and others before we all headed for the second hide.

Some of the SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia flock (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

The
beach sea-watch proved disappointing. As we walked to the hide I could
hear a Corn Bunting. Eventually I spotted it on top of a shrub. The
only other bird we added to the list was a Cormorant which flew over.
Got back to the vehicles and I spotted two duck far out to sea. They
were at least 5-700 metres out. Got excited anticipating some good
birds. Got the scope on them. What were they? Mallard!

Thinking
the British birders were now in the Public hide we headed to the
lighthouse. En route we saw a Sandwich Tern flying close to the beach, a
pair of Audouin's Gulls on the shoreline and a Black Wheatear flew
across in front of us. From next to the lighthouse I spotted what
appeared to be a Cory's Shearwater way out to sea. If so, it would be a
very early arrival! The British birding group were actually up by the
mobile mast behind us. We trudged up there for a scan, but heard only a
Corn Bunting.

Colin and John near the lighthouse (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

We
retraced our steps to the Public hide. Here we added Lesser Black Backed
Gull, a flotilla of about 18 Black Necked Grebe and some Shelduck
spotted by John. More Sandwich Tern were on the rocky causeway to the
right.

We
adjourned to Cabo village for a bite to eat. Some House Martins flew by.
We then drove along the beach-side track to the Rambla Morales.
Bird-wise, things had improved. Last time there were only Moorhen and
Coot. This time there were also Avocet, Black Winged Stilt, Kentish
Plover and a flitty flight of Sanderling. I found a distant Kestrel. We
heard Zitting Cisticola. John spotted what he thought was a Raven flying
along the beach. This was confirmed on our drive back. In fact we saw
two. Our final bird was a Red-rumped Swallow as we headed through the
short cut by the plastic greenhouses.

Record shot of the RavenCorvus corax (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

We ended with a respectable 44 species. Slightly disappointed by the lack of expected migrants though.

Regards, Dave

Interesting report and especially the mention of local guide Jesus Contreras who I last met at least seven or more years ago. A fortnight ago we recorded a pair of Garganey near the first hide as you approach Cabo de Gata and again on the lower Rambla Morales. Given that our bird seemed to be always on the move, then I certainly expect that you were correct in identifying your bird as such.

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Background Information

I retired at the end of 1998 having been a primary school headteacher for thirty years. After a couple of years undertaking some consultancy/ training work with headteachers, I moved to the Axarquia area of the Costa del Sol in Spain. We now live on a mountain top, a little to the north of Velez Malaga and overlook Lake Vinuela to the north and the sea to the south, which gives us excellent panoramic views of the whole area including the mountains.I have been a birder for over fifty years and before leaving GB I was a qualified "Ringer" for the BTO, undertaking most of my studies in Staffordshire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire. All three counties being well away from the coast, it is not surprising that my main field of interest were those "Little Brown Jobs" (often referred to as LBJs), with a special emphasis on roost work in the autumns and winters and early morning visits to favoured sites, such as Charwelton on the Banbury road from Daventry where, in June and July, it was possible to catch and ring well over an hundred birds and still be home by just after nine am to take the family shopping!

Always an interest in classical music, I have also sung in operettas and one appearance in a "grand opera" (Aida). Most of the former was with the Stamford Gilbert & Sullivan Players where I had the good fortune to appear, rather than star, in all save "Utopia".